September 09, 2014

Powder Foundation

When it comes to base makeup, I don't like to wear much. I've tried various foundations...Maybelline Dream Mousse covers anything but can look dry, CoverGirl Clean Makeup is cheap and works but that's about it. The best liquid I've tried, was one of Paula's Picks, Revlon ColorStay--but apparently it's been reformulated for the worse. While these all did the job for me, liquid and cream foundations feel like smearing paint on my face and I try to reserve them for special occasions when I might want heavy coverage, such as being photographed.

Because of that, the past few years have seen me using powder foundation. While they may have a reputation for looking heavier and drier than liquids, I find a light-handed application is all I need to even out my skin. If I need a little extra boost in certain areas, a touch of concealer is more than enough (I like mark. Good Riddance or Benefit Erase Paste). While my skin is on the drier side, I typically apply the powder after moisturizing, so I haven't found any issues there. A powder foundation gives me the ideal amount of coverage without feeling heavy, and doubles as a mattifying/setting product since I'd be using translucent powder on top of a liquid product to get it to stay anyway.

For a while I had an Avon rep in my area and bought pretty much all my makeup from Avon since it was convenient, fairly good quality, and the flyers she brought around always had good sales. I especially liked the mark. products so I used mark. Powder Buff for quite a while. I would still recommend this product as it gave the performance I was looking for at a reasonable price. However, every single time I bought one the compact broke. One dropped on the floor and the entire cake shattered in addition to the compact, which was more my fault than anything. But the other ones consistently had the hinges snap. I ended up moving and not bothering to find a new Avon rep, so since I didn't want to pay shipping to order online and the packaging was garbage anyway, it was time to find something new.

As usual I checked out Beautypedia for the best-reviewed powder foundations, and landed on the Palladio line from Sally Beauty. And also as usual, Paula's recommendation was great. Palladio Dual Wet and Dry Foundation has a great texture, applies smoothly, and I would say is even better than Powder Buff at the same price point. Additionally, I have had no problems whatsoever with the compact breaking. If you're looking for a product that allows you to vary the coverage at a very reasonable price, I'd definitely recommend Palladio.